Dune Review (Spoilers)

By Ryan Q.

December 17, 2021

The book Dune by Frank Herbert is a hit novel that explores the themes of mysticism and politics in a deep and lore filled galaxy that flawlessly balances the nuances of science fiction with adventure. Frank Herbert’s Dune is notorious for being hard to adapt, as the universe behind each character would require significant exposition to explain. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One triumphantly overcomes these challenges and is both remarkably beautiful and well crafted. 

Dune: Part One follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the son of Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), and the heir of House Atreides. When House Atreides is bestowed the planet Arrakis by imperial decree, Leto knows it is poisoned chalice, and prepares for war with House Harkonnen, the previous ruler of Arrakis. Paul is preparing for the possibility of him needing to step up if his father dies, but also discovering who he is as the son of Jessica Atreides (Rebecca Ferguson), who is a member of the Bene Gesserit, a sisterhood of influential witches with superhuman powers. The dynamic and intricate characters and universe are thrilling to follow.

The greatest aspect of Dune: Part One is the stunning cinematography. The universe of Dune is vast, with planets being insignificant in its grand scale, and ships spanning miles. Yet, Dune is also very personal, and concerns itself with people’s emotions and feelings. Denis Villeneuve and Greg Fraser depict this duality perfectly. Hans Zimmer’s score, as always, complements this.

Harmonizing with a beautiful score and cinematography were great actors. Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, and Zendaya were well cast, and Rebecca Ferguson was beyond exceptional. Jason Momoa was a badass. 

While the plot was all-around engaging and conveyed the themes and story of its source material excellently, there were certainly cases of characters needing more development in the movie. More specifically, Dune: Part One fails to convey Dr. Yueh’s (Chang Chen) backstory so when he says, “I’ve made a bargain with the baron,” it falls flat and does feel significant. If they just added a couple of lines explaining imperial conditioning, or more explanation of what was happening with his wife, he would have had a lot more depth and significance. Aside from this, Dune is an exceptional film that should absolutely be seen in theaters.